UNIT 5: Cognitive Psychology
PART I: Cognition
Learning Targets
34-1 Define cognition, and describe the functions of concepts.
34-2 Discuss the factors associated with creativity, and describe some ways of fostering creativity.
What is cognition?
all the mental
activities associated with thinking,
knowing, remembering, and
communicating
concepts
mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or
people
prototype
a mental image or best example of a category
While chairs can come in all shapes and sizes, modern models and antique creations, the basic four-legged, chair with a back often serves as the prototype for ‘chair’.
Can you think of examples?
concept
What examples could be included in the concept ‘bird’?
prototype
What is the best example of ‘bird’? What is the ‘birdiest bird’?
Does the prototype change if you live in New York City? Miami, Florida?
1. What Would You Answer?
When asked to think of a dog, many people think of a golden retriever. In this case a golden retriever is people’s _________ for a dog.
A. prototype
B. concept
C. déjà vu
D. morpheme
E. heuristic
How do prototypes help �form concepts?
Matching new items to a prototype provides
a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (or concepts).
Concepts help us understand our world.
How do we categorize people?
When we categorize people, we mentally shift them toward our category prototypes.
What research has been conducted?
When Belgian students viewed a blended face in
which 70 percent of the features were Caucasian and 30 percent were Asian, the students categorized
the face as Caucasian.
What were the results?
Likewise, if shown a 70 percent Asian face, the students later remembered a more prototypically Asian face.
Corneille et al., 2004
Into which category (concept) would you put the following items?
Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
Is a whale a fish or a mammal?
Is a 16-year old female a girl or a woman?
What happens when events, people or items do not match our prototypes?
When symptoms don’t fit one of our disease prototypes, we are slow to perceive an illness.
(Bishop, 1991)
People whose heart attack symptoms (shortness of breath, exhaustion, a dull weight in the chest) don’t match their heart attack prototype (sharp chest pain) may not seek help.
When behaviors don’t fit our discrimination prototypes—of White against Black, male against female, young against old—we often fail to notice prejudice.
What is creativity and what are �two kinds of thinking?
Creativity is the ability to produce new (novel) and
valuable (useful) ideas.
convergent thinking
narrowing
the available problem solutions to
determine the single best solution
divergent thinking
expanding
the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that
expands in different directions
What are some examples?
convergent thinking
Aptitude tests
(such as the SAT)
typically require convergent thinking—
an ability to provide a single correct answer.
divergent thinking
Creativity tests
(How many uses can you think of for a brick?) require divergent
thinking—the ability to consider many different options and to think in novel ways.
Practice your divergent thinking.
How many uses can you create for a paper cup?
How many different ways can you use a brick?
Compare your lists with a partner.
What are the five components of creativity according to Robert Sternberg?
expertise
imaginative thinking skills
a venturesome personality
intrinsic motivation
a creative environment
What is a venturesome personality?
A venturesome personality seeks new experiences,
tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres
in overcoming obstacles.
Princeton mathematician Andrew Wiles pondered for more than 30 years, a mathematical puzzle left by Pierre de Fermat, a seventeenth-century mischievous mathematical genius.
Wiles said he labored in near-isolation from the mathematics community partly to stay focused and avoid distraction.
What is imaginative thinking?
Cartoonists
often display creativity as they see things in new ways or make unusual
connections.
How to boost your creativity…
2. What Would You Answer?
Mental activities associated with remembering, thinking, and knowing are called
A. cognition.
B. concepts.
C. prototypes.
D. convergent thinking.
E. divergent thinking.
Learning Target 34-1 Review
Define cognition, and describe the
functions of concepts.
Learning Target 34-2 Review
Discuss the factors associated with
creativity, and describe some ways
of fostering creativity.